In loving memory
by Guardian of fantasy
Summary: After the untimely dead of Hikaru's grandfather, Hikaru is eaten away with guilt. The only way that he thinks he can redeem himself is with his inherintanc. A box full of Shusaku's kifu and a go instruction book written by Fujiwara no Sai
1. Prologue

Title: In memory of

Author: Guardian of fantasy

Fandom: Hikaru no Go

Paring: none

Prologue

Clanking sounds disturbed the calm sphere of the old house. They came from the old shed in Heihachi's house. Sometimes they were followed with an outcry of frustration and some curses. The source of this noise was of one eight year old boy who was ransacking the shed in search of valuables, that he might be able to sell.

No, he was not a burglar or a neighboring kid trying to be though by stealing stuff from the old man, he was in fact the grandson of the owner of this house and the noise he was making was because he was seeking things to sell to get money from, because once again his parents cut him off for getting a bad grade on his paper.

That Hikaru didn't receive his allowance was not an unusual occurrence. In fact it happened more so than not, but this week a new game was available in the stores, a game that he must have, a game that all his friends were going to have too, and if he didn't have it he wouldn't be able to join in their discussion of the game.

His parents won't relent though, not even when he said that if they gave his allowance now that he didn't need it next week. They thought it would teach him to study better and they even dared to say that he could just buy the game a week later!

They thought it would build up his discipline, as if he needed more patience. So here he was, searching through the old stuff that was lying in his grandfathers shed, collecting dust. That was the reason why Hikaru decided to take something from here. His grandfather wouldn't miss it, and he didn't use it at all, as was proven from the amount of dust it was collecting.

His hopes of getting something valuable were disappearing quickly. He only found old scrolls, decayed and moldy by age, and old picture albums. He never wanted to see his grandmother in a bikini again! That image has scarred him for live. And his grandfather in speedo, he still could feel a shiver travelling down his spine and the mere thought of it.

"Aaagh, I'll never get that game at this rate!" Hikaru screamed out loud, his hands grabbing his hair, while he looked desperately at the cobweb covered ceiling.

"Hikaru, are you up there" came an inquiring voice from downstairs. Hikaru blinked. His grandfather must have heard him screaming. Well no use hiding from him. Maybe if he told him why he was up there his grandfather would lend him some money. Yeah, that sounded good.

Maybe he had to play Go for it though. His grandfather had started to teach him lately. In the beginning, about a year ago, the young boy thought the game interesting, but once he told his friends about Go they started to laugh with him for playing an old man's game. Since then Hikaru has lost his interest in the game. Or at least pretended to. His grandfather wasn't as easily fooled as Hikaru's friends were.

His grandfather still made him play sometimes, saying that if Hikaru would win that he would give him money. Hikaru than pretended that he didn't want to play, but the look in his face while playing were unmistakingly the look of someone who enjoyed playing.

"Yeah, I'm here gramps." He yelled just at the moment that some dust fell down from the ceiling, aiming right at Hikaru's wide open mouth. The inhaling of the dust made Hikaru cough loudly, trying to get the dust out of his lungs.

"Hikaru? Are you ago." His grandfather sounded worried, but Hikaru could not answer him, for he was busy hacking out his lungs and trying to breath in the same time.

"Hikaru? Hikaru? That's it I'm coming up." Heihachi climbed up the rarely used stairs to go see what was wrong with his beloved grandson, but by a fate was against him. A scroll that Hikaru had carelessly thrown behind himself had landed on a step of the stairs, and Heihachi being as worried as he was did not see it and stepped on it, causing him to fall to the bottom.

A loud thump echoed through the hall, and Hikaru hearing it, immediately went to see what happened, even when he was still having the, subsided, cough.

"Grandfather?" came the hesitant question of Hikaru, when he saw the old man lying at the bottom of the stairs, not moving. Then he saw the blood, slowly seeping from a wound from the back of the man's head.

At eight year old, Hikaru did know that some wounds were dangerous and that one did not stand idle by, just watching, so he didn't. Instead he started to scream, a loud panic filled scream that must have been heard throughout the whole street.

Hikaru rushed down the stairs, nearly falling down himself, screaming at his grandfather to wake up. His breath was coming in shorter gasps with each one he took and soon he found him falling in a panic attack, not able to scream and barely able to breathe.

It was so that one if the neighbors found them. She had come when she heard the screaming. There was always a lot of noise when the grandson of Heihachi came to visit, but never this much, and the screaming.

She was an old woman, whose husband had died years ago and left her with a considerable fortune, making it possible to live in a fancy neighborhood with nice people. She had known Heihachi very well. They often played Go with each other. He always won, he was such a strong and strangely energetic player.

So it shocker her to see that strong man lying there on the ground, his head coated in his own blood. His grandson clung to his chest, trying to say things while having trouble breathing, tears traveling down his cheeks.

The first thing she did was call an ambulance, hoping against hope that the wound wasn't fatal. Head wounds always bled a lot, that's why there was so much blood. She kept telling herself that, while she tried to pry the young boy away from the old man's chest.

The ambulance did not take long to arrive and they hurried Heihachi of to the hospital. Midori, as was the old woman's name, said she would look after the traumatized boy, and she would try to contact his parents.

The boy was catatonic. He didn't speak or move, he just sat there, tears streaming out of his eyes and his breathe wheezing out of his mouth?

Luckily, Heihachi was an organized man, and it didn't take long to find a little booklet with the phone number of the parents of Hikaru in it. She called them, and a woman picked up the phone.

It was strange, she would tell herself after, how calm that she had sounded while she explained the situation to the hysterical woman. She did not take the news well, she sounded that she almost would have a heart attack herself.

Midori mentioned Hikaru and the woman, called Mitsuko, calmed herself a bit. She asked if he was all right and ensured that she would come right away. Yes, mothers, always the most concerned about their offspring.

It did not take long for Mitsuko to arrive and take away her son and drive to the hospital. Hikaru didn't say a word the whole time during the drive.

They arrived and were told that Heihachi was still in surgery. That was a good thing. If he was un surgery that must mean he is still alive! Hope glowed in Hikaru's eyes with this message and his mother was relieved too, but didn't dare to get her hopes up.

They waited for hours in the waiting room of the hospital. The clock ticked slowly, at a snail's pace for hours and still they waited. Then finally a doctor came out.

Hikaru and his mother stood up, looking hopeful at the man, but he just shook his head and started explaining that they were too late. Hikaru's mind blanked out when his mother started sobbing hysterically. This was not what was supposed to happen. In a hospital they saved lives, why couldn't they save his grandfathers live?

Sadness was growing in his heart, but guilt came up too. A little voice in his head that whispered that if he wasn't there, if he hadn't so carelessly thrown away that scroll, if he didn't suddenly start coughing that his grandfather would still be alive.

The funeral happened just a few days after. Hikaru didn't say a word and didn't eat all day, refusing to say acknowledge his grandfathers departure. If he pretended that it didn't happen, then it didn't happen at al. Right?

His parents were getting worried, they hadn't paid the young boy lots of attention since they organizing of the funeral took up most of it. But now it was all over, they didn't even recognize they energetic boy that was supposed to be their son. Even the promise of ramen couldn't help. He just looked at them with a blank stare.

They decided to try to bring him to some counseling sessions for professional help. They didn't know how to deal with this, they barely got over the dead of their beloved father themselves.

They didn't help. Hikaru went and didn't say a word, just stared at the woman who was supposed to help him. She talked to him about his grandfather, but she didn't know anything. She hadn't even known the old man that was obsessed with Go. And just how obsessed with Go.

The inheritance came free, and Hikaru, as only other of the family that played Go had gotten a special treasure that his grandfather had kept hidden in the same shed which Hikaru had ransacked. They were boxes filled with trophies from amateur Go tournaments. It made Hikaru want to cry. His grandfather was so proud on his ability to play the game and Hikaru had been too ashamed to admit it to his friends, and to himself that he had liked the game.

He opened the last box and looked in it. Kifu, lots of Kifu. Some old, the paper almost falling in pieces, some copied on newer paper. And amidst all those papers was a book, it looked old, but not super old. And another book, about the same size, but carefully sealed in plastic wrap, trying to conserve the old paper.

He opened the newer book, and a tiny paper fell out. _"To Heihachi Shindo; I translated the book in modern Japanese for you, now you own me a Go game old man; Takanade Hiruma."_

As if his grandfather would have minded to give the other man a Go game. But Hikaru's curiosity was piqued. A translated book that his grandfather wanted to give him.

He carefully opened the book. It was translated from a book that was estimated to be a thousand years old, probably the other book that was in the box too.

"_Reaching for The Hand Of God; Fujiwara no Sai" _the book began and Hikaru started to read the story that his grandfather wanted him to know, the one that he had left to Hikaru

"_My name is Fujiwara no Sai and this is my story. The only story of my life that is ever written on paper. This is the story which I have to tell."_

"_My name is Fujiwara no Sai and in the Heian period I held a position in the capital as Go instructor to the emperor. It was such a happy time for me, I was able to play Go every day. _

_In addition to myself, there was one other Go instructor. One day he approached the emperor with a suggestion._

"_Sir." He said "I believe that you have need for only one Go instructor." _

_The emperor, in all his wisdom let us play a game to decide who shall keep his position."_

Why couldn't they both play, the emperor must have been rich, why couldn't he afford to have two Go instructors working for him. Why didn't he tell the other one that he would decide if he needed only one Go instructor or not.

"_The game was dead even. Everyone's attention was drawn to the board; it was only by a mere chance that I saw it. A single white stone lay in my opponent's Go bowl. _

_To have one of your opponent's stones mixed in with your own is highly unusual, it __**has**__ been known to happen. _

_This of course has nothing to do with game play. A player need just to explain the situation and return the misplaced stone to his opponent's Go bowl, However that scoundrel…"_

The next few words were crossed out very sloppily. Hikaru grinned at this. It seemed that Fujiwara no Sai had trouble to keep his temper. And knew quite some cuss words too, funny that they had been translated and scratched through too. But then his smile saddened when he read on.

"_He waited for an opportune moment and then he placed the stone in with his prisoners…_

Hikaru looked in those pages with shock. The guy cheated? In front of the emperor? Some nerve this guy had. Hikaru knew a bit of Go and he knew how he hated cheating people when he was playing games and knew too that Go and cheating should never go together.

"_And just when I was about to call him on his foul he rang the accusation. He told the whole court that he saw me add a black stone with my prisoners. _

_The only thing that I could do was deny it and accuse him. Just when it was about to get out of hand, the emperor called for silence."_

"_He did not believe that someone would commit such an ugly offense in his presence and we had to play further."_

Strange, the guy let one of his Go instructors decide that he only needed one, but he didn't even consider that someone dared to cheat when he was around. Quite an air around himself, Hikaru thought to himself.

"_Upset with the turn of events, I was unable to calm down myself._

_I lost that game. _

Hikaru almost felt the intense sadness and despair that this stranger must have felt at this injustice. He read further, needing to know what his guy had done, what had happened of him.

"_To add insult to injury, my reputation is irreparably tarnished…I was banished from the capital for my alleged treachery."_

Banned as a cheater? But the emperor didn't believe that anybody dared to cheat. Besides if there was cheating, isn't it most probably that the winner had cheated?

"_Now, dearest reader, I have no other skills of Go, and now, in my time I cannot practice it anymore. When you read this it means that I am dead. Thrown in the river by myself._

_But before I give my life away, I must make sure that my Go will live on._

_The further pages in this book are dedicated to learn a complete starter at Go, everything I know about it. I hope that one day someone will reach the Hand Of God with this as his guide._

_Stranger I thank you for letting my Go live on, forever."_

Hikaru held back tears that have flowed too much over the past few weeks. This guy had found something so precious in Go that he would die for it. His grandfather had loved Go too. Maybe by giving him this, he was telling Hikaru that he had to try to love the game too.

_The Hand Of God_; the book said. Maybe he could try to reach for it, than he would have something in common with his grandfather. He already knew the basics of Go, having been able to almost defeat his grandfather. But he had been barely playing at all, and he only knew those basics for a year.

But maybe with the book of this sad stranger he could reach further and grow stronger at the game. Yes, that was what he was going to do, reaching for the Divine Move, even though he might never reach it.

He looked at the box and took out a Kifu. Where they Sai's too? He looked at them and saw the name _"Honinbo Shusaku"_. Hmm, never heard of him. He looked over the Kifu, something his grandfather had learned him to read, and saw that he seemed quite good, but his ability in the game wasn't as good as to discern just _**how**_ good a player that man had been.

He removed all the kifu from the box and started to arrange them, looking at the date's written on the papers. To his surprise there was one thing more in the box. It had been covered with kifu and now that he removed it he saw an old Goban standing with two Goke's.

He took it out and made it the centerpiece of his room. He opened the little book and started to learn, his mind already thinking about how he was going to play against other people to see how much he had learned without making his parents worry too much over him.

The instructions in the book were simple, working with examples, but still expressing the need to play against other people, for this was the best way to learn. Sometimes some extra notes were scribbled in the sideline, this one had been translated to. He leaved through the book and saw a name written with one of the scrabbles. Shusaku. He had obviously learned from this book too, and had found it necessary to write the more important modernizations of play in the book too.

Hikaru learned to enjoy the little anecdote that littered between instructions about games that Sai had played and tricks he had learned, making Hikaru laugh and feel as if he knew this ghost from the past himself. Shusaku had sometimes written some amusing situations too where he had found himself outdated and he quickly countered that problem.

He bought himself more books about Go and after some searching around he finally found a way to play Go against lots of people. His ancient computer that his parents had given him after they didn't need it anymore. It was big and slow, but it had internet connection.

And thus it was at eight year old, that Hikaru created his account on the net and choose as his username _"Karu5"_. He had tried to use Hikaru first, but that was already taken, then he used Hikaru5 but that was taken too. He had first about using Sai as name for his account, but it felt wrong to do it now.

So here he was, challenging his first person.

_Karu5 versus MightyStone_

TBC

Hope you liked this new version, and in two weeks next chapter.


	2. Fated meeting

Title: In memory of

Author: Guardian of fantasy

Fandom: Hikaru no Go

Chapter 1: fated game

It was two years after the dead of Heihachi Shindo. Hikaru was playing a lot on the computer and was getting quite good at Go. It had taken him a full year before he had finally get the rank of first dan. He had been so proud about himself. He knew that it was a high rank and that not that many online players got that high.

The year after he kept on improving with a speed that was rarely seen in anyone who played Go. He had just recently reached the status of seven dan and his games almost never reached Yose. But he got lots and lots of invites from other players to play with him. Everyone seemed to be interested to be playing against someone who was stronger than themselves.

His parents didn't like him playing this long on the computer and had taken to give him other punishments when he had failed a test. Instead of taking away his allowance, something Hikaru didn't care as much for anymore, they forbid him to play on his computer.

The ten year old had been annoyed by this decision of his parents, but it had worked. Almost never did he fail a test, even though some were just barely passed. But his parents seemed happy enough with that. He was still an average student though, not interested in wasting his time with studying, but liking to spend it with other more interesting things, like playing Go.

They had noticed too that Hikaru didn't go out that much anymore with his old friends, only Akari still stayed his friend, someone who came to visit him sometimes. Hikaru had even started to teach his old friend the beginnings of Go, interested in playing someone he knew.

She wasn't really that good, but she seemed to like the attention that Hikaru was giving her. He never showed her Sai's book to help her though. The book was sacred for him, and he couldn't just give it up, not even for helping her understand Go. He sometimes used the explanation out the book to help her, but that was the closest that Akari came to the mystery of Sai.

But she was as good as some of the people on the net, and he knew that once, in a far away past he had been just as bad as her. Even worse. She always had been a quick learner, but he quickly saw that she missed the talent to become REAL good in Go. She wouldn't be bad though.

But now, in this moment of time, there was no Akari, no, there was only a disgruntled Hikaru and a smoking computer who had finally known the last of his days. It had been bound to happen. It took him each day a bit longer to start and he was becoming slower and slower, getting rid of some viruses had also proved to be almost impossible, and had slowed the workings of the computer even more. But the bang had surprised him, and he had been in the middle of a game too. He had just had to put down ten or so stones before he had definitely won.

He could hear his mothers worried steps on the stairs and could only guess that she had heard the bang too, it was quiet possible since it had been a very loud bang. She flung open the door.

"Hikaru, what happened, I heard a bang and, oh." She said, noticing the disgruntled expression on Hikaru's face and the smoking computer that was standing in the middle of the desk.

"oh, well I supposed it must happen once" she said, knowing the age of the computer. She hadn't expected it to even have lived this long to start with, not with how Hikaru mostly treated machines around the house.

"I need a new one." Hikaru said decisively. His mother looked at him and then at the computer. She sighed. Maybe she should buy him a new one, but on the other hand it was expensive and maybe he would start playing some more with his friends again, start acting like he was a child again, instead of staying at home, clustered to his screen while playing the old man's game.

She missed the old Hikaru sometimes, the happy go lucky kid he once was. It wasn't that he wasn't happy now, but his laugh was rare and only came when he was playing that cursed game. He never nagged at her for money anymore and he never went out to play. She had never expected that the dead of his grandfather would change him this much.

Akari always had to come over to their place if she wanted to see Hikaru, instead of the both barging in each other's houses when they saw fit. It just wasn't normal for a child to be so obsessed with a game. She couldn't even see the logic in it, it were only black and white stones placed on a board. Heihachi once had tried to explain it to her, but it hadn't made sense back then either.

"No Hikaru, it's too expensive" she decided. Hikaru looked crestfallen, but his mother hoped that he would get over it soon and start going out a bit more. He would get over it, he's a kid, he could get over worse things than this.

"But…" he started, but the look his mother gave him left no place for buts. He knew when he had lost the game, a sign that every good Go player eventually learned.

So now Hikaru was sitting in his room studying the many Kifus that he had gotten together with those in the books he had purchased. One of those was "the kifu of honinbo Shusaku."

Those kifu resembled a lot of the play style of Sai, and Hikaru saw where he had modernized the play and were the old moves from Sai still rested norm. He knew that both their play styles were outdated, and Hikaru had learned to adapt a bit, but sometimes he still used those old moves, not knowing any better.

Every move on those kifu, he saw now, was pure brilliance. Hikaru hoped that one day he would become as strong as they once had been. He doubted that that day would come soon. He still didn't understand every lesson in this book and had decided that he would only go over to the next lesson when he had understood the current one.

But how must he reach that unattainable level when he had no one to practice it. He didn't want to go play in random salons throughout the city. Besides he was only ten. Once his mother found out he did that she would be furious. She already wasn't happy with him spending his free hours in his room playing Go. And to say that he had often got in trouble because he had been spending too much time by his friends.

Maybe he could save up for a new computer, but they were expensive. Even if he bought it second hand. And even then his parents must approve it. But his mother had said that it was too expensive, so if he said that he would pay for it itself she must agree with him. He hoped.

Only problem was that he didn't have enough money yet. How would he handle playing Go now. He could play against Akari for a while, but playing against the same bad person wasn't fun at all for him. Even though the people on the internet were as bad as her, playing a lot of different people was more of a diversity. Every person made different mistakes. Rating from bad to totally absurd to place that stone over there, what are you thinking.

And the modern techniques that Sai didn't know. He wouldn't learn more and more of them. Akari learned Go from him, so in the beginning he had learned her with the old way of playing Go, that was until he discovered that there were better techniques for modern Go playing.

It was the next day, when walking home from school that he saw a temporary solution to his problem. It was an internet café, full of shiny new computers that looked so much better and faster than his old one.

He stopped by it quickly, before he went into a Go withdrawal. It was not so expensive, only 500 yen, but still expensive enough for only doing it once or twice a week if he wanted to save for his computer.

He would wait a few days, and he would go on a Saturday, than it was 500 yen for as long as you wanted, instead of 500 yen an hour. It was a special promotion that would be there for a few months, because the shop had just opened a few weeks ago.

He could wait for three more days to save him some money. And then he could warn his mom that he would be away. Maybe it's better to tell her that he is going away with some of his friends instead of to a computer café to go play Go.

Lately he was getting negative vibes from his mother every time he said that he was playing Go. He knew both his parents didn't understand the game, but in the beginning they had tolerated it, because it had made him happy after the dead of his grandfather.

Now it seemed that they wanted to take it away, thinking that he took too much time playing Go, instead of studying or going out with his friends. Hikaru sighed. It wasn't that he liked to deceive his parents, but he felt that it was for the best.

"Mom," Hikaru said when he had arrived home. She had been standing in the kitchen, preparing dinner for the household.

"Yes Hikaru" she answered, hoping that he wasn't going to nag her for a new computer.

"I'm going out with some friends this Saturday, is that okay for you?" he asked her in a casual tone. His mother couldn't be more happy. He finally went out with friends again, making normal social contacts with people his own age.

"Of course Hikaru, but you have to be at home by eight p.m." she said, still playing the stern mother. He was after all only ten year old.

Saturday came and Hikaru went to the internet café and played his 500yen. He choose a computer that stood more at the back, so that he could play without being disturbed by the loud beeping of games and noise of other people. The added privacy was a bonus.

He logged in as _karu5_ and searched through the list, hoping to find a new name amongst all the old and familiar ones. He felt like playing someone new, someone fresh.

"Akira." He muttered to himself. He had never seen the name before, so he must be quite new. He would enjoy testing out his strength. Invitation send. And he waited until it was accepted. It didn't take long and thus the game began.

Meanwhile Akira Touya was in front of his brand new laptop that he had gotten from his aunt for his birthday. Not that he used a computer or so, but he had gotten it a month ago, and it was time that he used it.

The fact that he recently heard about net Go helped that fact. He knew that most of the players on the net were amateurs, and that they wouldn't be a challenge to him, but still, maybe it will amuse him.

It didn't take long for someone to send him an invitation to a game. His name was _karu5_, and he was ranked as a seven dan. Akira was impressed, seven dan, not bad. But then again, who knew how true the rankings here were?

He accepted the game and choose for an even one. The nigiri was done by the computer and Akira received black. He really hoped that this _karu5_ was any good.

The game began and Akira put down his stone. Almost immediately white responded. Akira frowned at this, hoping that the other person still took time to think about his moves, but time would tell. He shrugged it off and placed another stone. White responded after three seconds.

Akira's eye twitched, was this guy not taking him seriously or what. He placed another stone and white kept repeating the fast pace, until both of them were playing speed Go.

Akira was impressed though, by the solid moves that _karu5_ used. They answered each and every one of his in a way that no one else could have done before. _karu5_, he'd remember this name if this game continues like this.

He clicked his next move on the virtual board and no sooner had he done so his opponent answered, with a move so bad that all of Akira's hopes were chattered. Such a solid and good game, spoiled by such a big mistake.

They had been head to head, but now _karu5_ was way behind, with no change to ever get back those moku that he just lost. But he kept playing, his enthusiasm severely dampened.

Move after move they played and still _karu5_ did not resign. Akira sighed. Typical, amateurs never knew when to resign. And then it happened, out of the darkness of the board a white shining move was set down.

That move not only corrected the bad one from way before, but actually had turned it into a good one. He saw all this in three seconds and then his screen went black.

"No." he said breathlessly. He couldn't believe it, it was just so exciting, that one move made up that major mistake from before. Why did his computer so suddenly fall out. It was brand new, and all of his other electric machinery still worked, so why?

And then he saw, that his computer hadn't gotten any stream because he hadn't plugged in his laptop. The game had taken long enough to deplete his batteries completely. He had been so intent on the game, even in his disappointment that he hadn't seen the flashing warning of low batteries.

But he had seen that one brilliant move. That one move that made Go seem like heaven to him. The challenge it posed to him. He was sure he had correctly seen that move. Or was he. He only had a few seconds to see the genius of it. Had his opponent really put it on that place, or did his own mind came up with it.

He plugged his laptop in again, and logged in, hoping to find _karu5_ again, but he wasn't there anymore. No worries, Akira thought, sooner or later he will log in again. Or maybe he's an insei, he's good enough to be insei even without that insane move. With that move he's good enough to be pro.

While Akira was worrying about encountering this Sai person again, in real or virtual live, Hikaru was staring at his screen. The message displayed had said that the person had a dead connection. It had takes a minute after his last move before the message appeared, but mostly it meant that the person had been gone for a minute.

It was relatively safe to say that Akira hadn't seen his, even though he says it himself, brilliant move. He sighed. He enjoyed playing against that person, even though it was speed Go.

Hikaru looked at the clock of his computer and noticed the hour.

"crap, mom's going to kill me" he said to himself and logged of the computer and hurried his way home, being an hour too late at home. His mother was indeed angry with him. She took away his allowance for the next few weeks, making him home bound once again, because he couldn't pay the computer costs without it.

He should find something else, it wasn't as fun as playing Go at home. All around him were other people making too much noise, and he was sure that he had heard a derogative comment from one of the persons who had been sitting in his neighborhood about Go.

But still, playing against that Akira person, that had been great. That had been the thing that Go had been about. Sai had written it in the book, but until know he hadn't really understood it.

"_Go is a game for two people"_

And with those words in his head he fell asleep.

The weekend after it was Kaze school festival. Hikaru had promised Akari that he would come, but his mother had grounded because the last Saturday he had been over an hour too late at home.

Akari regretted the fact that Hikaru couldn't come, but she had promised him to go and make the best out of it even without him.

"Don't worry Akari, I will suffer alone here at home without you." He said in a bad acting voice, pretending to be hurt. Akari had shoved him promptly from his chair, making the rest of the class laugh with their antics.

He'll amuse himself studying some kifu or other. She thought to herself. She could almost not imagine it when she first heard of Hikaru playing Go. He used to be too energetic for a game as Go. She didn't know that his grandfather already had thought him the basics.

She was glad though, that Hikaru includes her into his new hobby, teaching her to play Go. But she couldn't bring up the same intensity that Hikaru had for the game. She liked it, but she couldn't let it control her live as Hikaru did.

But she had taken up some Go lessons herself in a club, hoping to improve a bit and to surprise Hikaru when she defeated him with her nine stone handicap.

She didn't always understand what the teacher told, that was because she had started the club halfway through the year and had missed some of the lessons, but thanks to Hikaru she still could follow for the most part.

And the people were nice to her, thinking her as charming. They always liked young people in lessons as these.

"There is no Go club here?" she heard a glassed boy asked.

"Go, why would there be a Go club in a middle school. Nobody of our age plays that old man's game." A burly boy of a sport club said. The younger boy looked thoughtfully at his feet.

"Then I shall start one when I'm in middle school." He exclaimed loudly, making the other boy give a mocking laugh at his remark.

"As if you could find members for it." He snorted. "I bet that no one here even plays the game."

A crowd had formed, some were looking at the bespectacled boy with pity, while others just laughed too.

"I play Go." A big red haired boy said. He was wearing clothes with the word Shogi on it and was carrying around a fan.

"You, Go" the jock laughed derisively, making the boy fume in anger.

"Kaga, stay calm." The other whispered to him. They knew each other apparently. Akari smiled. It was always nice to see friends standing up for each other.

"Well Tsuitsui, if you weren't such a wimp, I wouldn't have to defend you." He said, making the jock laugh even harder.

Akari winced at that comment not only had she shown him that they weren't friends, but the mean looking jock apparently found it amusing to laugh with the poor boy that only wanted to be in a club where he could enjoy his hobby

Kaga apparently didn't like that and took the older, but not bigger boy by his collar, lifted him in the air and threw him in a nearby pond. Then he grabbed the other boy by the arm and both ran away before the other jocks started after them.

When they ran passed her she could see a smile on both their faces. Maybe he would indeed start a Go club at this school next year. She hoped it would last long enough for her to join it.

She heard the red haired one say to the other when they passed the corner that when he was a member short for a tournament that he promised to join him.

She smiled and went home, hoping that in two year that she could play Go at those boys side, maybe even Hikaru would join. It was after all Go.

TBC

hope you liked it ^^


	3. taxi

Title: In loving memory

Author: Guardian of fantasy

Fandom: Hikaru no Go

Chapter 2: Taxi!

It had been months since Hikaru had went to the little internet café, but now he could finally go again. He was no longer grounded and his finances had taken a turn for the better. In other words he had a few good test scores and his mother didn't feel the need any more to keep the money to herself.

In that time Akari had come to see him sometimes, she even told him a funny anecdote about what happened at the haze school festival. A Go club sounded awesome though. It would be fun. But today Akari didn't come over, she had said something about extra lessons she took.

It had make Hikaru frown a bit. She was already at the top of the class, but he just shrugged it off. Really some people thought that school was super important, even if there were more important stuff in live than good grades.

It had taken awhile though, with his mother being a bit cranky with him, but now he had time free, and he could actually go somewhere.

Thus today he went back to the small little café that held all those computers. He really wished he had one for himself, even if it was old and slow like his old one, then he could at least play at his own pace, when he wanted to play and how long he wanted to play. And for free.

Of course it couldn't be, and this must do for now. He smiled at the sight of the nearly empty shop. It didn't surprise him, it was sunny outside and most people would be out. It suited him just fine to have some privacy here. People his age mostly didn't like Go, sometimes he could hear them making weird comments about people who liked it. He didn't like their biased feeling about something that they didn't know about.

He choose himself a computer somewhere in the back. He logged in, and searched the names that were listed as online. To his disappointment Akira wasn't logged in. He checked the other ones activity with a few clicks and saw that the other one hadn't been online for nearly a month. He guessed that Akira was one of those persons that barely played online at all.

Or more likely had tried it out once and didn't think that it was worth the bother to log in again, because of the lack of challenge. Most good players were like that. They thought that the challenge on the net was bad. Sometimes Hikaru felt like that too, but he still enjoyed the games that he played there, even if they lacked challenge.

Suddenly Hikaru didn't feel like playing on the net again, he knew most of the players who were on, and few were good. There were some new ones too, but somehow he didn't feel like playing them either. A good waste of five hundred yen, he thought to himself, but it can't be helped at all.

He left the internet shop and walked aimlessly around, enjoying the warmth of the sun. what can he do, he would like to play against other people, but not on the internet. He wanted to face them, he wanted to face that Akira he realized. He wanted to feel the exhilaration of the challenge again, of going up against someone who could actually counter his moves with deadly accuracy. He wanted to see how he would have reacted to Hikaru's last move, if that person could stand up to that challenge.

Maybe he should try a Go salon, he thought to himself, sitting down on nearby bench, it would be something different, maybe different enough to teach him something new about Go, if it was just how to react with other Go players, or how they would react to him. On internet no one knew his age, and Hikaru knew that he was quite good. How would people react to his kind of skill at ten years of age.

He walked on the sidewalk, the idea growing in his head. He wanted to try it out now, needed to try it out, just to see it once.

He saw a Taxi drive past and quickly hailed it. He didn't know any Go salons, but taxi chauffeurs always knew where everything was. He had seen that on television sometime ago. And if they didn't, well there was always a GPS.

He opened the door and went into the cab. A lazy looking man with sunglasses and a goatee was driving the thing. His taxi driver cap hung a bit lopsided from his head. He didn't look old at all, but Hikaru hoped that he could help him with his quest.

"Where do you want to go, brat?" he asked, his sunglasses pushed down his nose as to better look at the kid that slid in the backseat of the taxi. Hikaru looked back at the man. He didn't like being called a brat, but he held his tongue.

"Do you know if there is a Go salon near?" he asked, purposely leaving away the "sir" on the end of the sentence. If the man had noticed this impoliteness he didn't show it. To Hikaru's surprise the man even grinned at him.

"Do I know one? Of course I do. The best Go salon around. Hold tight kid, I'll bring you there in no time." The man started the cab and went to top speed in five seconds, making Hikaru regret that he had picked this cab to go. Well at least he knew were a Go salon was. If he would survive getting there.

Hikaru took the time of the ride to do two thinks, first was holding his food down, the second was studying the man. He didn't look like someone who would play Go, but then again, Hikaru didn't look like a Go player either. He had seen them in magazines, or sometimes on TV, all old and serious guys, wearing suits or traditional clothing. Hikaru shuddered in horror, just thinking of giving up his casual garb for a suit with tie. Terrible.

They stopped at a somewhat dreary looking building out of the centre of the city. It looked a bit old and as if it wasn't visited often. On the sign was the name of the salon.

"The Heart of Stone." The cab driver said, climbing out of his Taxi and looking at his watch.

"Well, it's time for a break anyway." He muttered to himself and walked up to the building with a confident step. He had obviously been here before. But Hikaru still thought it to be weird to take a break now. Especially since there was a man hailing his cab. Well, not his problem anyway.

"You coming kid?" he asked to Hikaru who was just standing in front of the building. Hikaru looked up with a start at the grinning man.

"Of course I am." He yelled brashly and ran up to the building, passing the man while sticking out his tongue.

"Why you brat." The man said, running after the kid. They entered the salon yelling friendly insults to each other, all of them ending in old man or brat of course, to make the age difference clear to all who listened, because they couldn't discern the older of the two by behavior.

"So, kawai, not working today?" asked the owner calmly, used to Kawai's childish behavior, although slightly curious why he had a child with him. It was not unusual for Kawai to come visit this salon when he has slow business, or on some occasion, just when he felt like it.

The taxi driver, now known as Kawai looked up when his name was mentioned. Hikaru looked up too when he heard someone speak. He looked at the inside of the place, and thought that it looked a bit dark inside. All the people here were middle aged or older and a lot of them were smoking, creating a misty sight.

"What do you mean, I'm here for work." He said gruffly. The owner raised an eyebrow at this answer.

"See this kid, he wanted to be brought to a Go salon, so I brought him here. You should be grateful, if I keep bringing people here, it will be good for your business." He said in a loud and proud voice.

"Yeah, any excuse to be here and not to work is good for you." Said one of the customers, earning laughter from the rest of the people. Kawai grumbled something and went to sit down at a table.

"So, anyone interested in a game?" he so casually and tactfully changed the subject. Everyone rolled his eyes at the behavior of this man.

"I want to play." Hikaru said brightly. Kawai looked at the young boy and started to laugh.

"I think that you are a few years too young to even think about playing against me." Kawai said confidently, hanging back in his chair, a half grin on his face. Someone as young as the kid wouldn't be able to play good, Kawai thought, he never even been to any Go salon, otherwise he wouldn't have asked me to bring him here.

Hikaru turned red at this remark and he immediately decided that he would play this arrogant man and that he will let him see that he is now match for Hikaru, who has grown strong under the lessons in Sai's book and the way he used them when he was playing online Go.

"Let's play, old man." He said, taking the chair on the other side of Kawai. He took the bowl in his hand and took some white stones out for Nigiri. Kawai saw the fire in the child's eyes and decided to oblige the kid. He might not be good in Go, but he had spirit, and having spirit was always important in Go.

Kawai started the game and soon a fast paced game began between them. Hikaru played to the best of his ability, quickly enlarging his share of the territory with his strategy. Kawai was already sweating, seeing this strong moves from one so young, he hadn't expected it, but he wouldn't go under without a fight. He would show this brat that he was a strong Go player.

Kawai loudly clacked his stone on the board. This move was one of his best moves of the whole game. Seldom was he challenged in this place to play on this level, but when he did he flourished under it, playing better than any of the salon's regulars have ever seen him play. They thought that the game was over with that move, as it had split the child's territory in two.

They expected the boy to resign, but he kept on watching the board, the look of serious intent still on his face. Kawai was looking gloatingly at the kid, believing it only to be a matter of time before the kid realized that he had lost to Kawai. But to his surprise the boy took another stone out of the bowl and placed it surely on a place on the board that he hadn't considered. Kawai looked at the board, and saw how much that one stone had changed the play.

It had worked, it made the move that Kawai had made before completely useless and won back a lot of his territory, not all, but a lot. Kawai's fire was fed even more. This kid had a lot of potential, but he could still win. He played another stone, trying to breath live in his side of the board, but every move he made was skillfully countered by Hikaru, who was taking more and more of his territory to add it to his own.

Kawai was a bad employee, he would give you that, but never tell him he is a bad Go player. He knew when he had lost to someone stronger that himself, and being a good Go player he knew when he had to resign. He bowed down a bit, not much, and muttered:

"I lost."

The words were softly muttered, but they rang clear in the silent atmosphere. The muttering began almost immediately after those words. The people who were watching couldn't believe that their best player had lost to a brat, which he brought here himself.

Hikaru gave a cocky smile, the seriousness gone from his face, as if it was never there to begin with.

"I told you I was going to beat you, old man." Hikaru said smugly. Kawai nodded thoughtfully, an expression that wasn't that often seen on his face.

"Are you an insei?" came his question. Hikaru looked weirdly at him.

"What's an insei?" he asked, truly not knowing what meaning that word hold. Kawai got a sour look in his face when the brat asked that question. Honestly, kids these days!

"Are you kidding me? You play Go this good, and you don't even know what an insei is?" Kawai said exasperated. "an insei is a person who is officially trying to become a pro. They are kids from all ages and they have amazing Go skills, like you." The last had been silently added.

"Ah, I know what a Pro is. There work is playing Go." Hikaru said childlike. Kawai nodded, at least the brat knew what that was, even though his knowledge about it sounded rather vague.

"Yes, they earn lots of money by playing Go." He said grumpily.

"Much?" the young boy asked wondering. The table didn't stop Kawai from gripping Hikaru's head in a head hold and giving him a noggin.

"It's not the money that is important but the prestige of players." He yelled in Hikaru's ear, nearly deafening him. Hikaru was struggling to get free of the hold that Kawai had on him, and winced at the loud voice that penetrated his senses.

"Kawai, settle down" the owner said. "Let's explain to kid calmly. It's not often that young talent wanders in. Maybe it's better to explain to him these things rather than strangle him to death because of his ignorance."

The owner always had been a kind and understanding man. That was the only reason why he could handle Kawai as good as he can, and why the younger man always, or almost always listens to him.

They explained a lot to him that day. Some of the more technical parts of the world of Go, that hadn't existed in Sai's or Shusaka's age. They told him about insei entry exams and insei classes, the pro preliminaries, and it amazed Hikaru to know that Kawai had once entered those. Apparently he had once entered the preliminaries but didn't enter the main Go exam. He heard stories about the Go exams, and that only three persons came to be pro a year.

Hikaru knew some things, like the ranking of Go that existed, but he hadn't expected them to differ much to the ranking of his internet Go. When he mentioned his Net Go rank, they told him that it was incorrect, that it was easier to get an high ranking on such sites then in real live. It was still amazing, though, that he had reached such an high rank, even though it was just on the net.

His head reeled with the information that was given, but he kept on listening. The explaining stopped suddenly when Kawai made a suggestion.

"Why don't you try for insei? You must be good enough." He said. Hikaru contemplated it, but he didn't feel ready for such a big step. This was his first in a long time of playing against other people. And even if Kawai had sometime long ago been in the Go preliminary exam, that didn't mean that he still had held on the same level of skill that he had then. Or that the players nowadays were still at the same level.

"I don't think I'm ready yet. Or ever be. My Go is not the same as theirs, my reason for playing is different. Maybe I'll be better off never playing against them." Hikaru said, an air of melancholy immediately surrounding him like a cloud.

The people around him looked a bit disappointed with that answer. How awesome wouldn't it be to say that they had discovered a future Go pro at their salon, but they couldn't force the kid. Besides he was young, maybe he would join those forces later, when he was a bit better, stronger.

They could wriggle one promise out of him before he left the salon, the promise that he would be back next week. The owner told him that even though everyone was weaker than him, that there were ways to make him stronger. They also could tell him more about the Go world.

Hikaru's interest was immediately piqued. His goal was getting stronger in Go, and learning how to understand the lessons that Sai gave him, because they were getting harder to understand with each page, as if his level was still too low to capture the brilliance that once was Sai.

When Kawai dropped him off at the place he had found Hikaru he still had some words to share with the young prodigy. Words of great importance even.

"Hikaru, when you turn pro," he began, but was interrupted by a groan of annoyance of the young boy, "No, Hikaru, listen, this is important. When you turn pro, don't remember to say that it's all thanks to Kawai." He said with a serious look on his face.

"What do you mean, I won that game between us." Hikaru screamed, quickly riled up even more by the grin the older man gave him.

"Yeah, but I brought you to the salon, and you know, I think that you are going to grow there, you are going to grow big." He said with a grin, then he closed the door, and left Hikaru gaping after the man.

"Had a nice day?" Hikaru's mother asked when he came home, just in time for dinner, lucky him.

"It was great mom, I'm going again next Sunday." He said while scooping some rice in his plate. Yes he was going again next Sunday, and the Sunday after that, and the Sunday after that….

TBC

Hope you liked it


	4. advice

Title: In loving memory

to Author: Guardian of fantasy

Fandom: Hikaru no Go

Chapter 3: advice

Hikaru went to the Go salon every week for a few months already. He had been happy when he found a train that stopped not far from the salon, otherwise getting there would become quite hard. Luck had spared him though.

To explain his outings to his mother he had used the excuse of going to a Go club for kids. She had scowled a bit when he had said Go club, but when he told her that it was full of kids his own age she had consented to his will.

Hikaru didn't like to deceive his mother like this, but sometimes he felt like he had no other choice. If he told her that he was going to a Go salon, full of middle ages man, who were convinced that he should enter the insei rankings as soon as possible she would forbid him of ever again going over there.

He had told the old geezers about his mother, that she didn't like it when he played too much Go, and they had sneered. They said that no one had to right to forbid true talent to bloom. And then promptly told him that maybe he should join the insei to show her that he was talented.

Hikaru had laughed at this rude hint he had received and the man laughed too, but all of them, even Hikaru knew that they didn't find it a laughing matter, they were quite serious about it. They would try everything in their might to make the kid stronger, even if it was playing a six stone handicapped teaching game with the ten year old boy.

Hikaru for his part was a quick learner, he soaked the lessons they gave him up like a sponge. Just last month he had beaten three of them, under which, Kawai, in a multiple game. It had been his first and he had been exited to play it and asked for one more. Steadily but surely the customers had to increase their handicap stone to play against the young boy and still give him a challenge.

It made them proud when he defeated them. They felt like an important person in this boy's growth. But Kawai was always the one who tried to play the boy, trying to make him sweat, by stuff like placing one more handicap stone than he needed. Hikaru still managed to scrape a win most of the time, but Kawai sometimes bested him.

They all felt themselves grow stronger, their games getting to a level that they never got before. Hikaru, so it turned out, could explain things very well to them, making them understand why one move was much better than another one. It showed that he himself understood the depths of the game too.

The only thing that this new found salon stopped him from doing, was going back to the net café, which he passed each and every day when he came back from school. It didn't matter that much, he thought, besides, with losing most of my Sunday I need Saturday for making my homework and studying my lessons, otherwise mom's going to forbid me to go to my "go club."

Today, after going to the Heart Of Stone for three months in a row, Kawai wanted to learn him something new. It was his way of celebrating Hikaru's comings. The first month he had just played handicapped games, the second multiple handicapped games and now something new was coming.

Each day Kawai kept reminding Hikaru that he shouldn't forget all what he had done for him when he once grew to be a pro, and that he should never to forget to thank Kawai when he was interviewed by Go weekly.

"We are going to force ties. Or rather you are." Kawai said, when Hikaru had settled in. He had paid his five hundred yen easily enough. Instead of spending it on the computer café het could keep it for using it here.

"Force ties?" Hikaru asked already taking the white bowl, while Kawai was laying down his two handicap stones.

"When you play an handicapped game, a tie can happen, because you play without the Komi." Kawai started to instruct in his 'teacher voice'.

"That's not that hard to do, if you see that you have way more territory than your opponent than you just play a bad move." Hikaru said, not really seeing the difficulty in this new training method.

"Ah, but here comes the catch, you can't let your opponent know that you are trying to go for a tie." Kawai said smugly. "each move that your opponent makes you have to recalculate the territory, and then place a move, without being it to obvious that you are trying to force a tie."

"It helps my counting skills." Hikaru said. Kawai nodded.

"Yeah, it's obvious with some of your games that you are not so adept at the endgame counting, so this is a way to improve that aspect"

The game soon began and the only sounds where the clicking of the stones on the board. Every once in the while, the customers, who had finished a game or had been loitering around, came to see the progress.

The game seemed equal to them, but then again, both players were a level above their own. Besides, everyone knew that Kawai always held an ace in his sleeve somewhere, one move that seemed to shine on the board in pure brilliance. The child could counter it easily, but the problem was that he mostly destroyed half of Kawai's territory with it. Kawai was that good that Hikaru most of the time couldn't afford to go easy on. That was something that would be hard to correct in a forced tie match.

Here it came, the move that Kawai made had earned him a lot of moku from Hikaru. Mostly that wasn't so bad, because by then Hikaru had moku to spare, but this time he was playing not too win but to be even with the score. Hikaru started at the board intently, considering each way to go to get the moku back. It took him almost five minutes until he saw a path. He placed the stone down.

He had regained almost all his moku that he had lost, without stealing too much more. It was a solid move. A very good one. Kawai frowned but placed another stone trying to get the lost points back. Another stone was placed and another.

In the end the scores were even.

"Ah, beat you again, old man, or rather, neither of us won." Hikaru taunted the man, getting the usual response from Kawai. A head hold and a threat of not calling Kawai an old man again. The men who had surrounded them when they had been playing the game laughed.

This had been common occurrence since Hikaru came here. He seemed to liven up the mood of the old men, and of Kawai too. They all knew that it was play pretend they used to lighten up the mood after every serious game they played.

Somehow the two youngsters, because Kawai was young compared to the regulars, had this seriousness around them when they played, something the old men weren't used too. Instinctively they seemed to know when the tension needed to be broken by their usual banter.

Every game Hikaru played was serious, even against the weakest of the salon he played those games with all his might, and his opponent could do nothing but respond to that intensity. They were grateful for it, that someone so strong would take them serious, instead of only trying to defeat them half heartedly.

For Hikaru it was something else too. It had been written in Sai's book. Always play with the game with the best of your ability, never regret it, not even when you lose because you know that you have deserved that. Learn from it and move on, but always carry it in your memory.

Hikaru had said those words, he pretended that he had heard them somewhere. This more than anything else proved to the owner that this boy was destined to walk the path of a pro. Soon these games, these handicapped game so easily won, wouldn't satisfy him anymore.

Of course, he could forget how much customers it would pull, if people learned that a pro had been going to his salon years before he became an insei. They would think that he had learned everything he knew here, that would be very good for business indeed.

Hikaru was busy playing another game of forced ties with another player Kawai looking at the game while trying to distract Hikaru with his comments, and Hikaru ignoring said comments, or sometimes giving snide remarks from his side.

At the Touya household Akira was holed up in his room, in front of his laptop. He sighed again, at least the fifth time in as many minutes. When he had first played that Karu5 he had been online nearly every day, hoping to catch a glimpse of the player, but he hadn't been online since then. After a few weeks he had grown tired of searching this player and had almost managed to forget him.

At least he had learned one thing from that experience. He looked at his laptop and saw that his computer was plugged in. He would never let his battery die out like that again, that was so incredible stupid of him.

Every time he looked at his laptop he felt like logging in on that site, he tried to resist, and each time it worked for a few months now, until today. He had logged in on that site again, but his hopes were in vain, no Karu5 was online. He felt like crying.

That game had changed him more than he would like to admit. He dreamed about it, wondering about that last move. He wasn't even sure anymore if he really had seen it, or if it was just his imagination. It was a whole new level of playing for him, but was it a bad move from the other player where he imagined a solution for, or a mighty trap which told Akira that he wasn't good enough yet?

He had told his father about that game after a while, hoping that he might know someone who had skills like that, maybe a younger pro? His father denied existence of such a pro.

"What must I do, father." Akira had asked him. He was despairing for a rival and now that he finally felt one he didn't know how to live without one.

"Be patient, Akira", his father advised him in a grave tone. "if he is really as good as you say he is, then one day he will show his face to us as a pro."

Akira knew that his father didn't approve of internet Go that much, especially not for good players like him. He always told Akira that for two players to play face to face, that then their true strength would appear, instead of playing with virtual stones in a plastic box.

Still, Akira nodded at the answer he was given. Being raised by the Mejin he took over some of the thought patterns that appeared in the higher and older classes of Go, and he too agreed that a real match should be played face to face.

He would have to wait, even though he didn't want to wait at all. He wanted to play a game against the other person again. To feel the excitement of a good even game. He didn't even know how Karu5 looked like in real live, how old this person was or even his gender, but Akira knew that when he played Go that he would recognize him.

But, what if Karu5 didn't turn pro? What if he or she decided play Go somewhere else, or even worse stop with Go. This last possibility started to seem logical to Akira's mind, with him stopping to go online to play the game, who knew if he still played it, or maybe s/he was dead or worse?

He almost laughed with himself for worrying so much over a person that he didn't know at all, almost. He didn't, it meant to much to him, he felt more like crying, but didn't either.

Maybe he should forget about that person? Maybe he should just stop thinking about that game and concentrate on the people who were Go pro already? Maybe he should turn pro? That though made his mouth taste sour. This wasn't what he wanted yet. He knew that he was probably good enough to succeed, but somehow he didn't feel ready for it yet.

He kept staring at his own profile, ignoring all the invitations he got for a game. Still no Karu5. Maybe it was for the best like this. He pressed the delete button and his profile disappeared. He wouldn't play Go online anymore and he would try to grow stronger. Then, when he stood there as a pro he would meet his rival, face to face.

If he didn't, that maybe that one move was a dream of him, but anyhow, he would listen to his father and be patient. Then one day his dream may come true and he and his rival would battle for the Hand Of God in a face to face game!

Another Sunday came and once again Hikaru was to be found in the Heart of Stone, playing some other people. He had quickly mastered the new game of making the scores even and he enjoyed playing these games as much as he enjoyed playing multiple teaching games.

One thing was annoying him today and that was Kawai. It seemed that you could enter insei from this month starting. He only needed to fill in an application form and cough up some yen to enter it.

"I can't Kawai, I already told you, my mother won't let me." He said to him with an annoyed sigh.

"You can't let your mother dictate your dreams." He said to Hikaru harshly "what does she want of you, to become one of those company machines who works too long and earns too little, just like everybody else?" he inquired.

"Jeez, lighten up, it's not like I don't have enough time." Hikaru said casually, hoping that it would lighten the mood again, because everyone was staring at them since Kawai had started speaking.

"But when do you plan to do it, you keep on seeking excuses of why not to do it, to not become insei. Actually you only use one excuse, your mother. She doesn't even know you are here, because she doesn't like Go. Would you stop listening to her and pursue your own dreams or wait until they fall apart." He was yelling now in frustration, not understanding that this brat could not understand how important it was to break free from the opinion of his parents.

"Maybe I don't want to be pro, maybe I just play it with you out of pity, because you are washed out player, not even able to become pro, or even get into the main exams!" Hikaru shouted back in anger. He hadn't meant any word of it, and only regretted it after he saw Kawai's face.

"If this is how you feel than I am going." The man said quietly. He took his hat and left the building. The silence hung in the air like the weight of a thousand bricks on his back.

"I said something wrong." Was the first thing heard in this cool atmosphere. Some murmuring was heard and the owner sighed.

"Yes you did kid, but he pushed you in it. Still you shouldn't have said that."

"But why does he keep on pushing me to be pro and to stop listening to mum. I mean I am only ten." Hikaru said.

"It's about himself, you see, once a long time ago Kawai showed a lot of potential in Go, and some people tried to get him to play Go. His parents forbid it. He came from a wealthy family and they wanted him to study law and become a lawyer like his father before him and his father before him.

Needless to say Kawai didn't really like that. More his parents pressured him to become a lawyer, more he became entranced by the game of Go until one day someone told him that he could go for Pro. He clung to that idea, especially when he learned how much he could earn being Pro, with those sums of money his parents should be happy. He found a pro that was willing to sponsor him in this endeavor, something that is necessary if you are an outsider trying to play in the exam

He didn't tell his parent's about the idea and just went to the pro exam alone. He made it through the preliminaries."

"But, you told me he didn't make it through to the main exam." Hikaru said in consternation. The owner nodded and then bided him to be silent.

"He came home that day, telling his parents about his chosen performances. They immediately withdrew him from the pro exams. His family was very rich and influential and made sure that no one would ever accept to sponsor him again.

He stopped playing Go for a long while, and he refused to study for lawyer, never turning up for his lessons and eventually found a job as a taxi driver, just to annoy his parents.

It was after they died that he took up go again." The owner finished the tale.

Hikaru was horrified. Would his mother try to stop him from playing Go like this. His parents weren't influential at al nor important figures in the society. He thought the reaction of his mother when she would find out that he has been playing Go in a salon in his free time. She didn't like it that he played Go, but she allowed it.

"My mum wouldn't do anything like that." Hikaru said decisively. The owner easily agreed with his words.

"see those words from Kawai as advise. He tells you to follow your own path, not the path that your parents have carved out for you."

TBC


End file.
